perched and about 15% foraging for nectar. It spent about 2% of its time defending feeding territories and only 0.3% hunting insects and drinking water. Breeding Most subspecies of the amazilia hummingbird breed at any month of the year; A. a. alticola apparently breeds only from November to March. Females build a cup nest of soft plant fibers bound with cobweb and sometimes with lichen on the outside. It generally places it on top of a flat branch and sometimes at the end of a branch, between about above the ground. In Ecuador nests were found in denser vegetation during the rainy season than in the dry one. The female incubates the clutch of two eggs for 16 to 18 days and fledging occurs 17 to 25 days after hatch. Status The IUCN has assessed the amazilia hummingbird as being of Least Concern. It has a large range but its population size and trend are not known. No immediate threats have been identified. Overall it is considered uncommon to common. A. a. alticola has a restricted range and is locally common where the habitat is suitable, but deforestation is a potential threat. A. a. caeruleigularis has a very patchy distribution in its rather restricted range. References amazilia hummingbird Birds of Ecuador Birds of Peru amazilia hummingbird amazilia hummingbird Taxa named by René Lesson Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN